Reader question: Asthma and smog in Bangkok

Nasty. Chiang Rai high mountains nights cooler no air pollution healthy food
Clean hotel rooms, friendly people and good doctors

Itt Henk I think very differently about it. I live in Jomtien, south of Pattaya and there too the air is filled with soot. All major cities are infested with soot. I have copd and definitely have to wear a face mask, otherwise my lungs would give out. I live on the 20th floor and have the sliding doors open day and night. Actually not that wise, because when I go over the floor with a kitchen towel in the morning, it is black. The soles of my feet are permanently black. The sand and sea of ​​Pattaya is polluted and black. The Russians and Chinese swim in their own shit from their hotel, because this is discharged directly into the sea. Bangkok and Chiang Mai and other major cities are totally polluted. On the one hand because of the many old diesel buses and other diesels, on the other hand because of factories, etc. The nature parks and some beaches are still very beautiful, including not densely populated areas. For the rest, Thailand, as well as Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, is one big polluted mess………..

Hello.
I am also asthmatic. And that is why I do not go near Chiang Mai in the months of March and April due to rice straw burning. The air is infested with the touch of. Then Bangkok and the southwest are a lot better. In any case, make sure that your medication does not get too hot, as this will reduce its effectiveness.
.greeting
Adri

Via the internet you can look at aqicn Chiang Mai. View pm2.5. You can also view Bangkok and Chiang Rai on this site.

Good luck, Hans

There is smog in Chiangmai and the surrounding area now, just like every other year.
I can't see the Doi Ithanon and the Doi Suthep from my house for several weeks now.
But in a few weeks it will get a lot worse again.
Only when the rain returns will the sky clear up again.
I'm slowly getting used to it.
The day before yesterday the loudspeakers in our village announced that from February 20 we are no longer allowed to light a fire.
With a punishment of yes 2 years in jail.
Sadly don't see this happening yet.

Jan Beute.

Bangkok: just a few days ago, traffic was forced to slow down to reduce emissions, which had risen to an unacceptable level.
Every big city has problems, especially if there are a lot of old and incorrectly tuned diesels on the road. Sometimes you literally have to cut through the black fumes of a “sporty driving” driver. Avoid the centers with busy roads. Seeing Bangkok from the boat on the Chao Phraya River is doable and fun in my opinion; nice wind in your hair and get off at various places (Palace, Chinatown).
Take a hotel on the quieter/cleaner outskirts of the city and hop in and out of the center if you really want to visit something there. With the Skytrain you avoid the traffic jams.
Chiang Mai: possibly smog caused by fires (agriculture); depending on location, nuisance can be minor to major. Monitor air quality http://www.chiangmaiair.org/index.html
Pattaya, Jomtien: right on the coast, no smog problem.
Lots of fun.

no matter what city, on the coast you are best off with asthma / copd.
if you only want to stay in bkk for a few days, I wouldn't avoid it.

(rain is predicted in bkk, but don't know when you will arrive)

I always take mare's milk capsules. Works well for me, and I hardly suffer from asthma there. Not even in the Netherlands, by the way. Good luck!